Process for making wire fabric.



H. E. WHITE.

PROCESS FOR MAKING WIRE FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. '23. 1913.

1,137,441 Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

6 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H. E. WHITE.

PROCESS FOR MAKING WIRE FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 23, 1913. 1,137,441 Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

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PROCESS FOR MAKING WIRE FABRIC. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 23. 1913.

1,1 37,441 Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

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PROCESS FOR MAKING WIRE FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED 05c. 23. 1913.

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H. E. WHITE.

PROCESS FOR MAKING WIRE FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 23, 1913.

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H. E. WHITE.

PROCESS FOR MAKING WIRE FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED mac. 23, 1913.

. 1,137,441 Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT E. WHITE, 0F YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GENERAL FIRE- PROOFIN'G'COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PROCESS FOR MAKING WIRE FABRIC.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT E. WHrrE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, in the county of Mahon-ing and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for Making Wire Fabric, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a novel and practical process for making Wire fabric, particularly of the kind which is useful as reinforcement for concrete and other cementitious bodies.

The main object of .the invention is to provide a simple and economical method of expeditiously manufacturing a wire fabrlc type of metal reinforcement of any desired length, and in such a manner that the same shall have uniform strength and appearance throughout.

Another object is to provide for the manipulation of the line and stay wires of the fabric in a novel manner whereby the use of wire-twisting shuttles and like appliances are entirely avoided; also, whereby the operations of spacing the line and stay Wires, and fastening the latter to the line wires, are so simplified that the metal is not subjected to abnormal stretching strains or uneven'resistances, and uniform conditions maintained as the fabric is progressively devel 0 ed.

A further feature of the process is that of assembling the line and stay wires and fastening the latter to the former, by novel steps which permit the use of hard wire for the stay 'or cross wires, thus making a stronger product, and one that can be better straightened out than where soft wires are employed, as is usually the case for the stay or mesh wires of fabric of this character;

In carrying out the process, any suitable instrumentalities or mechanisms may be employed which are available, or can be adapted for-the purpose, so for illustrative purposes there is shown in the accompanying drawings diagrammatic views illustrative of the steps of the process, supplemented by other views of a special form of machine that may be utilized/ In these drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrative of the several steps of the process which provide for a substantially continuous operation in the production of the fabric into lengths of any predetermined extent. Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views, enlarged, respectively on the lines 22, 3.3, and l4 of Fig. 1, showing the several stages in the manipulation of the stay wires to provide for laterally expanding .or spreading the fabric to its full width, and thereby simultaneously tightly closing the coiled loops of the stay wires into fastening engagement with the line wires. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a machine specially designed to carry out the process of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a side View of the said machine. Fig. 7 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the magazine in which a considerable number of the stay or cross wires are preliminarily racked until after the line wires are theaded throughthe, coiled loops thereof. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectionel view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7 illustrating the detail construction of the longitudinally slotted holding racks for the stay wires. Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail elevation of a portion of the stay-wire releaser toautomatically step-off and space the individual stay Wires. Fig. 10 is a sectional view on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9, the view illustrating in plan the construction and action of the escapement levers for releasing the stay-Wires one at a'time from the stack thereof. Fig. 11 'is an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the endless carrier for the laterally movable expanding blocks. Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view on the line 1212 of Fig. 11.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The essential features of the improved process are diagrammatically shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings. Referring thereto, it will be observed that in the production of the fabric, any suitable number of line wires a are employed according to the width of the fabric to be manufactured, and these wires are supplied in continuous lengths in any suitable manner, as for instance from reels or spools 1. In the performance of the process, all of the line-wires are fed continuously, and at a uniform rate of speed, in a forward direction, and this may be accomplished by suitable feeding mechanism, as for instance suitably operated feed rolls designated generally by the reference numeral 2. As the line-wires a feed forward, the same. are intended to ass through the fastening loops 6 of a stacli of stay or cross wires 0. These loops 6 are pre liminarily made by coiling intermediate and end portions of the stay wires, and the loopforming coils at the ends of each stay wire are prevented from opening by having the terminals of the wire secured by the wraps d' about the wire-body.

A. feature of the invention is that of primarily forming the fastening loops 1) of the stay Wires in an open condition, that is to say of a larger size than the diameter of the line wires, and more closely spaced togetherthan thespacing of these coils in the finished product. of the drawings, which is a cross-section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, at which point the line wires freely and loosely pass through the loops of all cross wires. I

As the line wiresm ovethrough and past the stack of stay wires having the full-open loops 6, the said stay wires are released one of the magazined stay or at a time and are carried along with the line And, beyond the point where the' stay wires are thus released and permitted.

wires.

to be carried by and with the line Wire's, the loose fabric then composed of the loosely assembled'line and stay wires'is subjected to a gradual though continuous lateral expanding or spreading operation. This operation exerts a longitudinal pull upon the stay wires in both directions from the center of the fabric, as indicated by the arrows on Fig. 1 of the drawings, with the result of longitudinally-extending or lengthening the stay wires until the full width of the fabric is reached, such extension of the stay wires being permitted and provided for by the simultaneous contraction of the loops 1). In this manner the loops b are caused to become tightly closed about and upon the line wires, thereby securely fastening the line and stay wires together in a uniform and substantial manner. This graduated action in theextension of the stay wires, laterally of the fabric, and the simultaneous closing of the loops onto the line wires is shown by the series of views in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings. When a fabric, formed in this manner, has reached any desired length, the line wires may be severed by means of a shear or equivalent device 3 located at a convenient point, as for instance adjacent the feeding rolls 2.

By .way of further illustratin the described process and one means 0 carrying out the same on a commercial scale, reference will now be made to the machine as shown in the drawings. This machine includes in its organization, a machine stand or frame 4 on which is arranged an endless carrier 5, essentially consisting of the end- This is clearly shown in Fig. 2

less chains 6 working over oppositely ar ranged pairs of sprocket wheels 7 and carryng a series of parallel transverse supportmg bars 8, each of which bars has slidably mounted thereon a plurality of expanding blocks 9. The expanding blocks 9 on each of the supporting bars 8 are capable of longitudinal movement on said bars, that is, in a direction transverse of the carrier, and each of said blocks is provided in the face thereof with right angularly disposed intersecting grooves 10 and 11, which respectively receive the line wires a of the fabric, and one of the cross wires 0. i i

The movement ofv the expanding blocks 9 is determined by a series of guide bars 12 extending longitudinally of they carrier 5 and alternating with the expanding blocks on the various supportingbars 8. These guide bars are diver-gently arranged over the upperrun of thecarrier, and convergently arranged beneath'the lower run of the carrier, sothat as the latter moves in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6 of the drawings, the expanding blocksfollow the divergence of said bars and are thus caused to move apart to secure the gradual longitudinal extension of the stay wires and the resultant fastening of the wires on the line wires as the material spreads or expands to its finished size. And, as the expanding blocks pass out of engagement with Y the fabric and onto thellower run of the carrier, they follow the convergence of the guide bars and are again drawn together ready for engagement with the stay wires which are successively released one at a time by the stay-wire releaser, designated in 13 are arranged in parallel series, corresponding in number to the number of fastening loops on the stay wires, and each of said racks is shown as consisting of a pair of angle plateslfi arranged in spaced parallel relation to provide a receiving slot for the loops 6 of the stay wires. A magazine as thus constructed and arranged serves to rack or stack a plurality of the previously coiled stay wires, but after the line wires have been threaded through the aline coils or loops of these stay wires, the magazine can then be removed. 7 After the stack of stay wires have been positioned and the line Wires are feeding through the loops of the stay wires, the stay wire releaser R automatically performs its function of stepping off or releasing one stay wire at a time.

' such intervals asto provide a proper spacing of the stay wires, and is provided for by constructing the releaser primarily of a series of escapement levers l8 pivotally mounted intermediate their ends, as at 19, on a suitable supporting frame 20, arranged transversely ofthe machine at the forward end of the magazine position. These escapement levers are arranged in transverse alinement, are of duplicate construction, and operate synchronously. Each is provided at its lower end with a pair of escape dogs 212l arranged in diiferent transverse planes, so that as the lever is oscillated the said dogs respectively clear and escape behind the foremost stay wire, so that the same will be free to be carried along with the line wires whereby the coils of said stay wire may become engaged in, and interlocked with, the groove of a transverse series of expanding blocks, as the latter rise into their operative plane.

Motion may be conveniently imparted to the escapement levers 18 by means of a reciprocating connecting bar 22 also mounted in the frame 20, and one end of which connecting bar has a pivotal connection with an operating lever 23 which is oscillated from a cam 24 on a shaft 25 suitably geared with the main drive shaft 26, which not only carries the drive pulley 27, but is also suitably geared with the endless carrier 5 for driving the latter.

The line wires a. are supplied from suitable reels or spools 1 and are fed forward by the feeding rolls, previously designated by the reference numeral 2, and these rolls are driven from the shaft 25 at the same speed as the expanding blocks are carried forward. The shearing device previously designated by the reference numeral 3 may consist of hand operated shears arranged at one side of the feed rolls 2 and usually brought into play by cutting the line wires" when the stay wires in the magazine have all been fed forward.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that distinctive features of the novel process will now be readily apparent without further explanation, and it will also be understood that the machine parts herein'referred to only exemplify one way in which the steps of the process may be performed, as any suitable instrumentalities or mechanisms may be utilized without departing This action occurs at from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

I claim:

1. A process for making wire fabric which consists in continuously feeding a series of line wires through the open loops of a magazined series of prepared stay wires, sequentially engaging the individual looped stay wires with the fed line wires, and subsequently causing each stay wire to be longitudinally extended while moving with the supporting line wires and thereby simultaneously closing all of the loops thereof onto the line Wires.

2. process for making wire fabric which consists in feeding a series of line Wires in diverging paths and passing them through the open loops of a series of prepared stay wires, then stepping oif each stay wire onto the line wires, and subsequently causing each stay wire to be longitudinally extended while moving with the diverging 'line wires.

3. A process for making wire fabric which consists in feeding a series of line wires through the open loops of a series of stay wires, causing the stay wires to be stepped off onto the line wires for carriage by the latter, and subsequently causing each stay wire to be longitudinally extended while moving with the line wires and thereby simultaneously closing the loops thereof.

4:. A process for making wire fabric which consists in feeding a series of line wires through the open loops of a series of stay wires, causing the stay wires to be stepped 03 onto the line wires for carriage by the latter, and subsequently gradually causing each stay wire to be longitudinally extended while moving with the line wires and thereby simultaneously closing the loops thereof.

5. A process for making wire fabric which consists in continuously feeding a series of line wires through open loops of a magazined series of stay wires, stepping off one stay wire at a time onto the moving line wires, and subsequently gradually causing each stay wire to be longitudinally extended and thereby simultaneously closing its loops onto the line wires.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT E. WHITE. Witnesses:

O. N. FARRELL, O. D. KAISER. 

